Arranged
by Nymphadora102
Summary: Katara goes through with an arranged marriage, but things take a turn for the worst and she leaves everything behind, meeting a certain fire-lord. She is all alone will he be there for her? Zutara Yukara T to be safe...
1. Chapter 1 - Yakone

/ I do not own ATLA, those rights belong to Mike and Bryan /

**Chapter 1 ~ Yakone**

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_4 years after the war_

Katara was nervous, not because she didn't know if she was making the right choice, of course, she didn't, but because if this failed what would happen to her or the southern water tribe, what would she stand for after all of this.

Nikkoe, a wise old lady that had been Katara's mentor for the past few months, noticed Katara's nervous features and laughed as she twisted and twirled katara's hair, " what's so funny?" Katara was dumbfounded by Nikoe's actions, she usually was understanding and soft-spoken " my dear child, you are nervous over something so small and something you KNOW you will succeed in, you have nothing to fear" she was stunned for a few moments before replying " I have everything to fear, this could go horribly wrong, what if he doesn't accept me or I end up creating a civil war between the tribes" Nikkoe just smiled and nodded before continuing

"Katara" she was sincere as if she knew how she felt " If he does not accept you he is a fool and has missed out something special, but deep down you know things will be fine and have nothing to fear, fear is holding you back from living your life, and how could you, the woman who trained the avatar at 14 and defeated the hideous fire lord Ozai, be afraid of a simple arranged marriage" " this goes by everything I stand for what if I can't handle it, what if I am treated like an accessory, I may have helped defeat Ozai but to them I am still a puny woman" "Katara, Katara, Katara I know you won't let that happen and I believe Yakone won't allow that to happen either… now come on there waiting for you"

Yakone was a nice and respectable man but like many other men in the tribe, he followed the old customs and as much as he tried he still treated her less than his equal.

He was handsome sure but none of that mattered to Katara, she would have to marry him either way, she had to do this for the tribes, for the better of the world, what's one last sacrifice for those she loves, for him.

He was told before her and was treating her well before, he took her out on dates and would listen to her and her stories, it seemed like he cared but would that be enough for Katara. Maybe one day she would learn to love him.

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**Author's Notes:**

Sorry, this chapter is so short, hopefully, the next one will be longer...


	2. Chapter 2 - The number 4

/ I do not own ATLA, those rights belong to Mike and Bryan /

**Chapter 2 ~ The number 4**

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It had been 2 years since her arranged marriage with Yakone she was happy, she had friends and Nikkoe was always there to support her when she needed it.

Katara was nervous about consummation it was necessary for the northern water tribe, but she wasn't ready to jump into it, at least not until last night. Yakone and the elders had been nagging that they need confirmation and an heir, Yakone was next in line to be chief and was nervous since word had spread that chief Arnook would be stepping down soon, he had lost his wife and he suddenly realized he was all alone, everyone knew it would only last so long before he under pressure.

Last night she was feeling horrible and made a rash decision, they wouldn't stop until they knew she was with child. Katara didn't hate her decision but she slightly regretted it the next day, when her the headache from her hangover calmed down.

Yakone was awfully cheerful and the tribe instantly knew what happened, Katara had made it clear that no matter how much she cared for Yakone that she wouldn't do it until she was ready, it had been her first but she had noticed it wasn't his, and yet he was happy, happier than he has been in 2 years. It hurt a bit that he wasn't going through this all with her but she knew she didn't love him or at least not true love you listen to in fairy tales, it was more like a friendship one she didn't regret but was awkward every now and then when things became too real.

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_3 months after the news had spread of that night_

Toph came to visit, it was summer the only real time she came to visit, she brought Aang, her fiancé. Things were still tough with Aang, they had separated 4 years ago because she felt like an accessory to the avatar, his prize for defeating Ozai, and she was beginning to act like it, so she went ahead and did the same thing except, semi-permanently 'for her tribe and the happiness it would bring her'.

Katara was greeting her guests with her husband when Toph pulled her aside, one of her classic grins painted across her face "you've been busy" she snickered as she waited for Katara to reply "what?" she was extremely confused, was she talking about her improvements on the northern water tribe or her work as a teacher (in secret of course), Toph nodded her head "come on don't play silly with me Sugar Queen" she was even more confused than before "yeah I really have no idea what your talking about" " your pregnant... with quadruplets" Katara's jaw dropped and Toph slowly started backing away "w-w-what! Oh no, no, no I can't have quadruplets I'll die, no one lives from giving birth four times in a row. Ahhhh" Katara was flooding with emotions, she was going to be a mother, but there was more chance that she would never live to see her children, not to mention how much pain she would be going through, within the 9 months of her pregnancy, she grabbed Toph's shoulder before she could run off "don't tell anyone, not just yet. How far along am I, do you know?" her voice cracked half way-through speaking and Toph only caught bits of what she was saying " umm, okay, I won't and I don't know you'll have to ask someone and wasn't the morning sickness a dead give away?" "I just thought it was all the alcohol I was drinking and the food, they've been trying something new, it wasn't really working" Toph's face turned from scared to solemn in a matter of seconds, "you need to tell someone and get a checkup, because drinking can kill the babies" Katara just stood there while she watched Toph trot way, she felt so scared and lonely especially lonely.

Katara ran into her house past all the curious faces and quickly jotted down two letters one to Kyoshi and another to the South pole, she needed to be with her real family to get through this, she didn't want to tell Zuko at least not yet, not so soon after Mai and his unborn child's death.

* * *

_Later that night_

Katara was nervous about tonight, she had finished speaking with Nikkoe who advised her to stop drinking and to take things slow, as well as the fact she was 3 months along.

She stood up and tapped her glass to get everyone's attention, she took a sharp intake of breath before speaking as calmly as she could "umm, I found out today that I umm i'm pregnant" the room roared with cheers and stood up preparing to congratulate Yakone, but Aang stopped them before they could, he saw underneath the smile fear coursing through her body, shiving up and down "and what else?" his eyes were stone cold but you could he was deeply worried, everyone turned their attention to Aang and then back to Katara, her bottom lip was quivering, she stared at Aang for a moment, thankful but stunned "w-with quadruplets" the room fell silent, the moment had gone sour as everyone looked at Katara and Yakone with pity, Yakone was frozen the information running through his brain, what would happen if he lost Katara the only person who has made him feel complete the one who would listen and understand what he was going through, what if had to raise their children all alone, without her.

The night was not nearly as cheerful it had been before the news broke out, Katara didn't speak another word and it was hopeless trying to get Yakone to say more than two words at a time.

Toph and Aang tried all they could to make Katara feel better, but it had just set in that she was like a ticking time bomb ready to explode in 6 months time, she had 6 months, 6 months left to live.

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**Author's notes (read this if you're confused):**

I know quadruplets is an excessive amount of kids but it happens and there is a point to all this madness in the end.

Also, Yakone does love katara they have a reasonably good relationship, but it's not true love. Write some reviews or suggestions for this or other stories if you want!


	3. Chapter 3 - Surprise!

/ I do not own ATLA, those rights belong to Mike and Bryan /

**Chapter 3 ~ Surprise!**

_7 months in_

Yakone tried everything to make Katara feel better but it was even harder with all her mood swings, she was scared and he understood why, Yakone felt horrible he had done this to her, in his anger he had let the elders push him and her into this.

Katara's brother and wife, Suki came a week after she had told everyone at the dinner 4 months ago and her father came a month later. They all came in and out, they had their own duties to take care of as well as Katara, he knew it hurt her every time they left, it was like the war all over again for her, except it wouldn't be them dying.

Throughout the whole time of the pregnancy, Katara felt horrible, at first everyone was just staring at her, either worried look from those she knew or who knew her or a disgusted from those who didn't agree with her. It was especially tough after Toph and Aang left, they had promised her that she would make it to their wedding, but deep down Katara knew there was little chance of that happening.

Yakone did everything he could but nothing worked he just made her feel worse, especially when she would catch him sobbing on the balcony praying to Tui and La that they would all make it out alive and well.

Katara mostly stayed in bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy, visited by many, most of whom she would ignore, thinking about the life she had the things she wished she had said and done, the people or more likely the person she should have talked to. Her father would come in and tell stories about Kya and him when they were young and what they did when Sokka and I were born, I told Yakone that if I don't live and our children do and one of them is a girl then we shall call her Kya, to which he replied "I promise and I will love every one of them the same, with all my heart can give" at that comment she smiled, the first time in many months and she slept peacefully that night.

_1 ½ month later_

Katara still hadn't told Zuko she didn't know why she couldn't he had become her best friend, sending letters to each other often, but she couldn't bear to tell him the bad slash good news, that was until she was 8 and a half months along.

He had come to a meeting to discuss plans and ideas with the newly appointed chief, chief Yakone, even though Katara had 'little brain cells left' she still felt like Yakone should take the role as chief after his uncle, Chief Arnook, it had been one of the only interesting things she had done other than bed rest, of course, it took two weeks to convince him to accept, but nonetheless she had completed her, all from her humble abode in her bed.

On the rare occasions that she was allowed out of her house was when she went shopping with Nikkoe and Katara's 'wonderful' husband had forgotten to mention that her old 'oblivious' friend from the fire nation had come to visit for a few days.

Katara had just been paying for a bag of seal jerky and Papaia ( her newfound love since the pregnancy cravings had kicked in) when someone tapped on her shoulder, she jumped and wearily turned around to see bright golden eyes staring down at her, a wide grin present on his as his smile slowly faded away when he studied her features. Katara tried to make herself look like everything was fine and she was the same optimistic, strong-headed girl he once knew, it failed. He looked hurt and she couldn't keep her act on for long, she decided they should talk, she grabbed his hand and pulled him off to her favorite fountain.

It was nearing sunset, her favorite time of the day, she sighed as she sat down on the cold surface, Zuko spoke first "why?" he didn't look at her and she could barely hear him, she sighed once thinking about what she was going to say, the truth is she didn't remember why she didn't tell him, it had been 3 years since Mai and his child had been murdered and yet she didn't tell him, "I was scared and I thought you might still be hurting" that was partly a lie, she was mostly scared, he turned to face her urging her to continue "and, I guess not telling you, was a way for me to feel like this wasn't real" Zuko looked stunned but sincere his bright golden eyes staring into hers "you never have to be afraid of me, okay a-and why wouldn't you want this to be real Katara your having a baby" he said the last part with more enthusiasm, but quickly vanished when she mumbled "4 babies" "what?" he glanced away and turned back to the sun, her eyes never leaving it "I-I-I'm having quadruplets" Katara turned away from the sunset to face him tears welling up in her eyes "oh, Katara" he embraced her into a hug and for the first time in months she wasn't confused and didn't feel bottled up, she started to cry every now and then inserting a few words, "i-i-i'm probably (sobbing) going t-hre-to (sobbing) die" "you won't Katara I know you won't, your stronger than you know, your the strongest person I have ever met."

They stayed there for a while before they got up and walked back to each other's houses.

Zuko's POV

The sun would be setting in a few hours so Zuko decided he would walk around the city for a while before he jumped back into the chaos of being the fire lord.

He was exploring the market when he noticed a familiar body, one he had studied on his travels many years ago. He approached her, but stopped moments away before continuing, 'why had she stopped sending letters, did she not want to talk to me, did I do something wrong, maybe I shouldn't… ahh stuff it' Zuko tapped her shoulder and she jumped, he tried hard not to snicker as she turned around to face him, a smile was etched into her face for a few seconds and then disappeared as quickly as it had come. He was studying her body, it had been 6 years since he last saw her, and that's when he noticed the 'big' difference. Zuko's grin dropped, she hadn't told him 'why? Why didn't she tell me she was pregnant, and she has to be a few months along, why didn't she tell me?!' she grabbed his hand and pulled him off, she wouldn't look him in the eye the whole time.

They reached a glowing, ice fountain on the wall of the city, they sat down and sat there in silence for a few moments before he spoke "why?", he couldn't bear to look at her at least not yet.

After Katara told him what she was going through and why she did what she did, Zuko felt like an asshole, he shouldn't have been so judgemental, 'Katara always has a reason for the things she does'. She started to cry and it broke him inside, she was always so strong and rarely showed weakness, he couldn't handle it he pulled her in for a hug and he felt her relax as he did this "you won't Katara I know you won't, your stronger than you know, your the strongest person I have ever met". When the crying stopped he helped her up and walked her home, he was worried about Katara but he couldn't just drop his duties and run to her, he promised her that if she was in pain or she needed him there he would come and that he would be there for the birth.

_5 days later_

As Zuko left Katara's brother came, Yakone was not very liked by any of Katara's family at the moment, they tried to hide it but Suki and Sokka had a hard time trying not to smash him into a million tiny pieces every time they saw him.

It was 10 pm and Katara was walking home alone after the feast they had just had in the town hall, when a sharp pain ran through her body, she had felt this before and she had a feeling she knew who was doing it "Hama-a-a" "hello again young Katara, I believe I owe you a promise" Katara was struggling to break free of her bending she was much weaker with her pregnancy and was told not to bend or it could kill the babies, but even if she tried she could only make a ripple in the ponds when she tried. She had to do something otherwise Hama would kill her and her babies, her thoughts were interrupted by what felt like she was being stabbed from the inside of her womb, the street was filled with her screams, partly because of the pain Hama had caused her, and the rest was her anger someone was going to be the reason she would never see her children and not because she was dead but because they were. Katara breathed as calmly as she could in this situation trying to regain control 'how has no one heard me scream, it's ten o'clock and no has shut down the band' she hated blood-bending but she would do anything to save her children, "I hear congratulations are in order, you have been quite busy since our last encounter in the forest" Katara tried to block out Hama torments as she tried to focus on here bending, she relaxed and let go of all the emotions she had been keeping in over the past few months, except it that she wasn't doing most of the bending and she didn't know why. Hama's eyes widened, she should have been powerless even though it was the full moon, she was pregnant.

Just as Hama fell to the ground so did Katara, in her last moments of consciousness she saw five figures running around the corner, 'finally, they get her when I don't need them' she could feel she was surrounded by a puddle of water, her water must of broke, a month early.

Every now and then Katara would come in and out of consciousness to feel unbearable pain and even cries of babies and those who held her most dear.

Nikkoe had decided that both Katara and the babies would die if she didn't give birth tonight, but the only problem was Katara was too unstable to give birth, so Nikkoe made a decision that may or may not work, they would have to cut open her stomach and pull out the babies themselves, it was a risk, because they did one thing wrong Katara or the babies could die.

Katara's body was aching, she slowly made an attempt to open her eyes only to find her vision blurred, she could rustling a few steps away from her, she turned her head to see Yakone watching over a large cradle, she smiled as she saw the look of joy on his face, but there was something else there too, what was it. She made her way over to the cradle, slowly and painfully, she had to see what she had created the things she went through all this pain for, as she glanced down she noticed there were only three babies, her heart sped up, what had happened where was her fourth child, maybe she was just being paranoid, Sokka and Suki might be holding him or her, "Yakone?!" her voice was barely a whisper, even so Yakone had jumped "w-where is our fourth child" she was holding back tears she knew that of course, they would be safe but something deep down told her otherwise and was scared, Yakone was also holding back tears as he gazed into Katara's eyes "h-h-he was (gulp and shudder) d-died inside the womb, (takes a sharp intake of breath) Nikkoe thinks that the amount of stress and pressure Hama put your body through k-killed him" silent tears started tracing his face, Katar was rooted to the spot as she gazed upon the cradle of 3 children, her 3 children, she was happy, so happy but she was devastated, she couldn't save him, she couldn't save her baby boy, she was the one supposed to die not them, her not her innocent babies.

She nodded her head, her throat clenching the way it did when her mother died, she couldn't hold herself up for much longer, she fell to the ground, crying into her hands.

**Read this if you are lost:**

Okay so Hama was the blood bender that taught Katara a little bit of what she knows and Katara put her in jail in the middle of the war because she was hurting people, blah, blah, blah any way so she swore that she would get revenge on Katara, and so she did right now...

Also, I said there was a point to Katara having 4 kids, I wanted to make it more interesting, hate me if you will but this story is going to be sad-ish.

Please review, give me some ideas or suggestion if you want don't really mind, wanna make this a good fanfic, BYE!


	4. Chapter 4 - Strike 1

/ I do not own ATLA, those rights belong to Mike and Bryan /

**Chapter 4 ~ Strike 1**

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The months that followed Kierrahn's (that was what they named the fourth child) death were hard, Katara barely came out of the house, she stayed inside doing her normal chores or holding her three children close to her heart, crying quietly as she took in every feature about them. Yakone and her family would come to try and cheer her up but rarely succeeded.

They named the oldest, Kiara, she looked exactly like Katara when she was a baby, or so says Hakoda, Kya was the second born, she was a mixture of both Yakone and Katara, with a lighter shade of blue eyes than katara and pitch-black hair. Their only son was the last born, 2 hours after his siblings, Yakone and Katara named him Keirou, he was the spitting image of Yakone even though he was only days old.

Katara was very protective of her children, she never wanted to lose them, they were too precious.

* * *

_5 Years Later_

It was the triplets fifth birthday, the whole tribe would be celebrating their birthday, and also Kierrahn's death. Katara always found their birthdays hard, but she now understood why her mother gave her life for her, Katara loved her children more than anything in the world and to be honest she loved her children more than her mother, but only by a bit, if anything were to happen to them, again, she wouldn't know what to do, so she decided today was the day.

At 2 o'clock she walked through the palace/town hall to her husband, he was just exiting a meeting he just had, talking to members of the council, she waited until they departed, leaving her with Yakone, a look of determination slapped across her face.

"Yakone?"

"Ahh, yes Kat-honey" he looked nervous, he knew she was going to drop a bombshell if he didn't agree to this, whatever it was, he knew that much after nearly 8 years of marriage.

"I think it's time the kids started to learn waterbending"

"yes, of course, I will have the best healer to teach the girls, and of course the best masters for my son" he face shone with pride but quickly dropped when he saw Katara's prominent features glaring at him.

"No, they will all learn healing and fighting, if they ever need it, which the situation might occur, they will need to know how to fight and heal themselves if necessary" her tough tone made Yakone shiver, but this was not right, it was not tradition and he was not going to disobey tradition.

"Absolutely not, that is not how things are done here katara, I know that the southern water tribe does not follow tradition, but we do and water-bending is one of the most sacred laws we have here"

"I know how to bend and heal, for Tui's sake I was a master bender at 14" their voices were reverberating off the walls, Yakone was going to be sleeping in the guest quarters on the far side of the palace tonight.

"The world was a much more dangerous place back then, if we do not keep traditions we are no better than the southern water tribe, people doing whatever they want, ignoring what Tui and La meant for us!" he crossed a line, he completely forgot that Katara was from the southern water tribe.

"Excuse me! Tui and La did not want women to be less than equal to men, agni slaves to men!"

"That is not what women are thought of!"

"No but that is how we are treated, I suppose Keirou will become chief because he is a man!"

"Yes he will, because that is tradition" Katara's eyes widened, steam bouncing off her, fist curled into tight balls.

"Kiara is firstborn, she is the rightful heir, and if, only if she steps down it might become Keirou's responsibility"

"No, traditions won't change Katara, the girls will heal and Keirou will fight, that is the end of it!" He turned and stormed off before Katara could do anything, she screamed into the wall, trotting off in the other direction.

Katara was not going to let this go, if he won't get someone to train them, then she will.

**Notes:**

Notice how Yakone is not classified as her family.!


End file.
